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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

2 October - Blogs I'm Following II

English: Frederick II, King of Sicily, swears an oath to Pope Honorius III, in which he undertakes to protect and preserve the possessions of the Roman Catholic Church, to defend the Reign of Sicily, and to confirm such engagements in the future, when crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Given in Haguenau, September 1219. Recto of a parchment with the gold seal of the Frederick II. The document is currently stored in the Vatican Secret Archives. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Curtis Tisberger 21 minutes ago ·
The United States of America Corporation, a subsidiary of the bloodline
family owned Federal Reserve Board, has resorted to stealing private
funds, and blaming it on “Iranian cyber-attacks,” in order to stave off
bankruptcy, according to CIA and other sources. This desperate stalling
maneuver comes as the members of the old pentagram of power, David
Rockefeller, George Bush Senior, Queen Elizabeth, Evelyn de Rothschild
and the Pope all argue amongst each other over what to do next.

The overall picture is that the Queen and the Pope are funneling money
to Obama and pushing for his re-election, while the Rockefellers and
Bushes are looking towards Asia, according to both CIA and Vatican
sources. This leaves the Rothschild’s out on a limb and isolated. Their
plan to start war and mayhem in the Middle-East, prior to doubling oil
prices, is now starting to look like a really bad, if not fatal, chess
move.

Word has also now come
back from the Vatican archives about the fate of the Menorahs taken from
the Temple of Solomon by troops of the Roman Emperor Titus. According
to a senior Vatican archivist,

the original Menorahs from the
temple were melted down and turned into small statues that were
distributed amongst various Romans and thus cannot be returned to the
temple. However, the Vatican also has several solid gold Menorah’s
dating back to the time of Jesus that they say they would be willing to
hand over to an honorable group of Torah Jews. The Talmudic Jews, whose
belief system is Babylonian and Sumerian but not Jewish, would not be
considered qualified to receive the Menorahs, the Vatican sources say.
Nonetheless, the willingness of the Vatican to make such a gesture would
be very helpful to help start a not-so secret operation, code named
OSC, that is being proposed by the White Dragon Society. We will talk
more about this at the end of the news-letter but for now let us return
to the geopolitical situation.

The now collapsing Rothschild
game plan for the Middle-East is aiming to cause regime change in Syria,
followed by Jordan and then Saudi Arabia as a precursor to doubling oil
prices and replenishing Rothschild coffers.

The fact that
Israel has been saying since 1992 that Iran “is within a few months” of
getting a nuclear weapon and needs to be attacked, is a clear sign the
Rothschild game plan has been churning its wheels in the mud for a long
time.

shiftfrequency.com

Warren
Buffett, who has been the current administrations top ally when it
comes to propping up the markets, might not be as optimistic as he
pretends to be in public. reduce
his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing. He has
reduced his stock exposure in these companies by over 21% and has even
sold of his entire stake in the computer parts company Intel (7,745,000 shares).

The
controversial billionaire George Soros, has also been moving at a
frenzied pace to sell off his stocks in all financial companies.
According to his SEC filings, Soros dumped his entire stake in all major
financial stocks. He completely dumped Citigroup (420,000 shares), JP
Morgan (701,400 shares) and Goldman Sachs (120,000 shares), leaving
himself with no exposure to the American financial markets.

Interestingly,
at the same time Soros started dumping these financial stocks, he
started pumping major money into the Gold markets. During that same
period, Soros more than doubled his investment in the SPDR gold trust
ETF.

110:22 pm MDST

Judge throws out case against tar sands protesters
* Media Releases | | October 02, 2012*
(Ottawa) – A judge today dismissed all charges against thirteen Canadians
on trial for protesting the reckless climate change and energy policies of
the Harper Government. The judge threw out the case after the Crown
presented insufficient evidence that the peaceful demonstration constituted
a crime.
The 13 defendants were arrested on 26 September, 2011, during a
demonstration on Parliament Hill in which roughly 200 people risked arrest
to protest the climate change and energy policies of the Ha... more »

“Have you ever seen the Milky Way's glow create shadows? To do so,
conditions need to be just right. First and foremost, the sky must be
relatively clear of clouds so that the long band of the Milky Way's central
disk can be seen. The surroundings must be very near to completely dark,
with no bright artificial lights visible anywhere. Next, the Moon cannot be
anywhere above the horizon, or its glow will dominate the landscape. Last,
the shadows can best be caught on long camera exposures. In the above image
taken in Port Campbell National Park, Victoria, Australia, seven 15-second
... more »

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! If this is your first visit,
please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges
we've taken on so far.
There's a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read
through it ... however, if you don't have the time right now, you might
find the following quick links helpful:
- The #CTWW Gang
- The Honor Society
- My Final Thoughts on Our Last Challenge
- This Week's Challenge
Last week was reader's choice ... everyone was encouraged to pick their own
challenge based on the season whi... more »

Although Campaign for America’s Future and Van Jones' Rebuild the Dream
won't be officially launching the 2012 congressional voter guide until
Friday, the site, The Middle Class Voter Guide is live now and easy to use.
The best way to use it is to check out your own state and find your own
congressmember and senators and see how they've been voting in terms of
support for the middle class.
Believe it or not, close to 200 Republicans scored a zero, "worst of the
worst!" And that shameful list includes almost all the Republicans Blue
America is targeting this cycle. One or two escap... more »

I keep forgetting to wish everyone, or at least everyone celebrating, a
Chag Sameach. I love Sukkot! Nothing like a holiday where we're supposed to
spend a week rejoicing. Much better holiday than that one last week.
I was on the Brian Lehrer on WNYC radio this morning talking "skewed"
polls. Listen to me duck a question about the PA voting decision because I
didn't want to say anything without knowing something about it first!
Meanwhile, at PP I talked about how to answer the question of whether war
is more likely with Barack Obama in the White House or with Mitt Romney. I
mostly w... more »

*A US Border Patrol agent has been shot dead and another wounded after
coming under fire in an area of Arizona used by drug smugglers and human
traffickers.
*
Three agents were responding to a ground sensor that had been tripped about
five miles from the Mexican border, near the city of Bisbee, when the
shooting began, authorities said.
The wounded agent's injuries not believed to be life-threatening while the
third agent was unharmed.
The agent who was killed was named as Nicholas Ivie, originally from Utah.
He is the fourth border official to die in Arizona in the last two years.... more »

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake has struck OFF THE COAST OF OREGON at a depth of
10 km (6.2 miles), the quake hit at 02:13:13 UTC Wednesday 3rd October 2012
The epicenter was 377 km (234 miles) West of Waldport, Oregon
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake has struck the FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS,
ALASKA at a depth of 39.8 km (24.7 miles), the quake hit at 00:50:29 UTC
Wednesday 3rd October 2012
The epicenter was 73 km (45 miles) South of Unalaska, Alaska
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has struck the GULF OF CALIFORNIA at a depth of
15.4 km (9.6 miles), the quake hit at 19:43:08 UTC Tuesday 2nd October 2012
The epicenter was 58 km (36 miles) NNE of La Paz, Mexico
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Sheldan Nidle - October 2, 2012
October 2, 2012
12 Ahau, 8 Tzotz, 9 Eb
Dratzo! We come today, knowing that a great many things are approaching the
point where they can begin to take shape before your eyes. Our Secret
Sacred Societies aided by our Earth allies are working hard to complete a
broad spectrum of activities which will create an astonishing new reality
for you. We watch with much merriment as these many projects come to
fruition, knowing that they are the start of what is to make disclosure
possible! We intend to take this opportunity to make a series of
announcement... more »

*“Going Flat” *
by Chet Raymo
"My wife tells me we have enough credit points on our credit card to get a
free TV. "Why do we need a new TV?" I ask. "Because we can, I suppose." And
there it sits, sulking like an ignored child. Fifteen years old.
Nineteen-inch screen. Cathode-ray tube. Do they even make cathode-ray tube
televisions any more? Do we have the last operating CRT in existence? Gee,
it works swell. Not exactly high-definition, but then our eyes aren't
exactly hi-def either.
I'd hate to replace our CRT with a flat screen. I know how the CRT works. I
can imagine in my m... more »

[image: image]*Guest post by our roving China correspondent Suzuki Samurai*
[image: DSCN0186]
China announced last month it had commissioned a new aircraft carrier.
This is not that aircraft carrier. These are photos of a concrete aircraft
carrier in a man-made lake in a city called Binzhou.
True story.
[image: DSCN0187]
[image: DSCN0190]
[image: DSCN0193]
[image: DSCN0204]
Legend has it the thing was built as a casino, but the hapless mug who did
so forgot that there are no 'official' legal gambling establishments
allowed in mainland China. So what is there is instead is a... more »

If Netanyahu calls for an early election in Israel, as seems very likely,
it would probably take place in February or March of next year – just weeks
after the inauguration of the next President of the US.
Given that Netanyahu would be taking a punt about being able to win the
next Israeli election, one can assume that he would at least like to
achieve his goal of creating a Greater Israel by destroying Hezbollah and
Hamas and Israel’s arch nemesis, Iran, before leaving office. This would
mean pushing for support for an attack against Iran from the US just as
soon as the US electio... more »

Can't decide whether this is more sad or funny. Definitely qualifies for Romney's
quote of the day:
Romney finished his interview with this insightful tidbit about his
contempt for the 47%, “I don’t think it’s ever productive for someone like
me to get into the details of how the campaign is going to cobble together
the details of how someone like me is going to win an election. So when I’m
talking politics and the dynamics of bringing in the number of votes I’m
going to need, why, I’m talking about something that isn’t of interest to
most folks.”
Let's not forget he's been practi... more »

Wikipedia for Ehsan Yarshater:
*Ehsan Yarshater* (born April 3, 1920) is the founder and director of The
Center for Iranian Studies, and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of
Iranian Studies at Columbia University. He was the first full-time
professor of Persian at a U.S. university since World War II.
He is one of the 40 editors of the *Encyclopædia Iranica*, with articles by
300 authors from various academic institutions. He also edited the third
volume of the Cambridge History of Iran, comprising the history of the
Seleucid, the Parthians, and the Sassanians, and a volume enti... more »

"I Wish You Enough"
by Bob Perks
"I never really thought that I'd spend as much time in airports as I do. I
don't know why. I always wanted to be famous and that would mean lots of
travel. But I'm not famous, yet I do see more than my share of airports. I
love them and I hate them. I love them because of the people I get to
watch. But they are also the same reason why I hate airports. It all comes
down to "hello" and "goodbye." I must have mentioned this a few times while
writing my stories for you.
I have great difficulties with saying goodbye. Even as I write this I am
exp... more »

*"Kenyon Commencement Speech, 2005"*
by David Foster Wallace
"This speech was originally transcribed and posted at Marganlia.org until
recently. Here is the originally transcribed version."
"If anybody feels like perspiring [cough], I'd advise you to go ahead,
because I'm sure going to. In fact I'm gonna [mumbles while pulling up his
gown and taking out a handkerchief from his pocket].) Greetings
["parents"?] and congratulations to Kenyon's graduating class of 2005.
There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an
older fish swimming the other way, who ... more »

Fidel
Castro during Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961. Photo by Raul Corrales / AP.
The Cuba story, Part 1:
The Bay of Pigs to the missile crisis As U.S.-Cuban economic and
diplomatic tensions were escalating, President Eisenhower made a
decision that in the future would lead the world to the brink of nuclear
war.
By Harry Targ / The Rag Blog / October 2, 2012
[Part one of three.]
The 50-year

"Life for a punctual person is like a roller coaster. All kinds of things
are going to happen to you! Sure, I can see the whole roller coaster you're
on. And sure- I could give you a piece of paper that would tell you about
every dip and turn, warn you about every bogeyman that was going to pop out
at you in the tunnels. But that wouldn't help you any. Because you'd still
have to take the roller-coaster ride, I didn't design the roller coaster, I
don't own it, and I don't say who rides and who doesn't. I just know what
it's shaped like."
- Kurt Vonnegut

According to a knowledgeable analyst here, this sticker is being
promulgated by the Taipei City gov't and is going up in government offices
of Taipei City. The blue section says "The Diaoyutai are the ROC's."
Great idea. I really love it. It signals that the city's KMT administration
lives in an ROC ideological bubble. It does not contain a single
Taiwanese/Taipei face, landmark, or artifact -- it is basically an
announcement that the ROC doesn't have any link to the island and people of
Taiwan, and doesn't care about them. Great work, KMT. I'm sure the DPP will
have lots of fun d... more »

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is certifiably
INSANE.... There, I have said it, and I could easily back that fact up with
so many insane things that she has done and said over the last year. The
most telling statement was when after the US murdered Muhammar Gadaffi, she
used the sick statement: "We Came, We Saw, He died", and then laughed like
some cackling lunatic. It is so hard to believe that many Americans
actually considered this lunatic for the office of President of the United
States!
I came across a most interesting video that I want to share here with ... more »

* "Learn Everything You Need to Know About the*
* Economy from a 'South Park' Episode"*
By Anat Shenker-Osorio
“Many of us are daily left wondering how to make sense of the
contradictions we personally experience and hear about the economy. The
news tells us the recession ended in 2009, but unemployment has proven
stubbornly stable. Pundits contend we’ve seen the end of the housing
bubble, but home prices in most places won’t budge and foreclosures
continue. Our growth rate has registered positive since the summer of 2009,
but poverty levels are also on the rise. What’s going on... more »

[*Click on either map to enlarge.*]
*"Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said elections officials could
still ask voters for a photo ID, but could not turn away otherwise
qualified voters who had not been able to obtain one."*
*-- from Robert Barnes's Think Progress report today,*
"Pennsylvania voter ID law enforcement halted by judge"
*by Ken*
As you've probably heard, the Pennsylvania trial judge, Robert Simpson, who
had previously decided that the photo-ID voting requirement enacted by the
Republicans in the state legislature is constitutionally hunky-dory but was
then enco... more »

*"Lakota Sioux Nation Leaves America"*
Lokota people struggling for their rights.
by Stephen Lendman
"America betrayed them and all Native Peoples. Throughout US history and
earlier, genocide was policy. Historian Ward Churchill explained four
centuries of systematic slaughter. It went on from 1492 - 1892. It
continues today against Native culture.
Churchill estimated around 100 million Native People throughout the
Americas "hacked apart with axes and swords, burned alive and trampled
under horses, hunted as game and fed to dogs, shot, beaten, stabbed,
scalped for bounty, han... more »

Writing in the Financial Times, Martin Wolf, one of my favorite economists,
is the latest to uncritically accept Northwestern economist Robert Gordon's
claims that there was no per capita economic growth before 1750 and that US
GDP growth rates plummeted from 1950 to 2006. As we've seen, both claims
are incorrect.
Wolf writes:
For most of history, next to no measurable growth in output per person
occurred. What growth did occur came from rising population.
This is not the case. Per capita economic growth was significant and
economically transformative prior to 1750, according to ... more »

"The Obama team appeared Thursday to go out of its way to lower
expectations for the trio of one-on-one debates between the president and
Romney next month."
*
**Related*: First debate called critical for Mitt Romney
In ’02, Mitt Romney capitalized on debates
"Attacks from Romney’s home state highlight one of the the challenges he
faces as a candidate from a place dominated by the opposite party. There is
no shortage of Massachusetts politicians willing to blast him."
*
**So much for **minimizing expectations**.*

*Because I haven't watched them:*
"Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren face unique challenges in first debate" by Frank
Phillips | Globe Staff, September 20, 2012
In their first face-to-face meeting, US Senator Scott Brown and his
Democratic rival, Elizabeth Warren, face delicate challenges: She must
engage him on issues without seeming aggressive; he must fend off her
charges without hurting his likable image.
Brown and Warren are set to take the stage in a Boston television station
Thursday evening, stripped of their political handlers and media
specialists. The debate, which will gi... more »

An insightful comment made by "Mohammad" at the website 'The Race for Iran'
in the comment section of the article, *"Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu on the
Iranian Nuclear Issue at the UN General Assembly"*:
"The issue is not only a fatwa, it’s reputation. If Iran ever produces
nukes, that would equal to Khamenei telling Iranians and others “I lied. I
am a liar.”
If you live in Iran, you’d know that Khamenei’s reputation is carefully
managed, because it is tied to the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic. If
Iran wanted to keep the option of developing nuclear weapons open, it could
sim... more »

*She's already got my vote.*
"Poll shows Elizabeth Warren taking slim lead; But18% of voters said
they’re still undecided" by Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips | Globe
Staff, September 30, 2012
With Elizabeth Warren and Senator Scott Brown preparing for their second
debate Monday night, *Warren appears to be inching ahead* in the highly
competitive race for Senate, as Massachusetts Democrats energized by the
presidential race begin to fall in line behind her, according to a new
Globe poll.
Warren, a Democrat, leads Brown, a Republican, 43 percent to 38 percent, a
shift from the Gl... more »

Labour Finance Spokesman David Parker still talks about giving the Reserve
Bank “other targets” than just leaning against inflation. He’d like them to
also meddle with our money to lean against (in no particular order) our
high exchange rate, rising unemployment, slowing GDP growth, falling
savings rates and the quality of chardonnay in Grey Lynn.
How? Somehow.
Why worry about him and his ramblings? Because this ardent inflationist is
very likely to be the next Finance Minister.
TI have my own problems with the phony price stability pursued by the
Reserve Bank. There’s clear evid... more »

The question is relevant, for if you, I or any entity was say, applying to
be a ferry operator, if all our vessels we operated in the past were lying
on the bottom of the ocean, burnt to a crisp and or taking on water would
we not be laughed out of the bidding process?
According to Wikipedia, and not denied by Enbridge, in the last 10 years
Enbridge has had nearly 1000 major oil spills...
*Using data from Enbridge's own reports, the Polaris Institute calculated
that 804 spills occurred on Enbridge pipelines between 1999 and 2010. These
spills released approximately 168,645 barrels ... more »

*She's already got my vote.*
"Poll shows Elizabeth Warren taking slim lead; But18% of voters said
they’re still undecided" by Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips | Globe
Staff, September 30, 2012
With Elizabeth Warren and Senator Scott Brown preparing for their second
debate Monday night, *Warren appears to be inching ahead* in the highly
competitive race for Senate, as Massachusetts Democrats energized by the
presidential race begin to fall in line behind her, according to a new
Globe poll.
Warren, a Democrat, leads Brown, a Republican, 43 percent to 38 percent, a
shift from the Gl... more »

I guess this is the latest reboot of the Rmoney campaign. Romney's new ad
claims he will protect the poor and Obama is the evil taxer of the middle
class. However, there's a small glitch in this strategy:
Mitt Romney’s problem is not simply that the Obama campaign has succeeded
in persuading voters that his policies would benefit the rich at the
expense of the middle class. It’s that his policies really would benefit
the rich at the expense of the middle class, and he doesn’t have any
reality-based way of persuading voters otherwise.
You can watch Romney's ad at the link. It's kind... more »

*And the math still doesn't add up.*
"Romney must change dynamics of race drastically to win" by Matt Viser |
Globe Staff, September 30, 2012
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney enters the final 37 days of the presidential
campaign in *desperate need of a change* — and *fast* — as he attempts to
peel off support from President Obama, whose standing has been growing
among swing state voters but remains tenuous.
Heading into perhaps the most crucial week of the general election — one
that could *solidify Obama’s standing as the front-runner* or *reshape the
race* — Romney is looking to the fi... more »

*Indonesian officials say 46 pilot whales have beached themselves on a
southern island. All but three have died.*
Pramudya Harzani from the nonprofit Jakarta Animal Aid Network activists
and local authorities were still trying to rescue the three surviving
whales on Tuesday but they kept swimming back to shore.
He says he whales washed ashore late Monday in Raijua beach on Sabu, a
small islet between Timor and Sumba islands in southern Indonesia.
District chief Gidon Bilibora says meat from the dead whales has been taken
by locals for food, a common practice in the area.
Scientist... more »

[image: Tyler Durden's picture]China Just Killed All "China Bails Out
Europe" Rumors For Good
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-02/china-just-killed-all-china-bails-out-europe-rumors-good
Just in case there are still any hopes that the FT, or any other credible
media outlet, may come up with a story, like it used to do almost daily
back in 2011 and early 2012, that China, whose stock market continues to
plumb 3 year lows, has some capacity to inject cash (that it doesn't have)
into a broke continent (which would never repay said cash even if it
existed), here comes none other... more »

*What would else you expect from an elitist suit? *
"Romney says dependent 47% back Obama; Dismisses those who won’t take
‘responsibility’" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, September 18, 2012
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney, during a private May fund-raiser captured on
video, *talked disparagingly* about nearly *half the electorate*, saying
they were “dependent on government” and could not be convinced to “take
personal responsibility” for their lives.
In blunt terms clearly not intended for public consumption, Romney said
that 47 percent of the country’s citizens see themselves as “victims’... more »

How do you get tax reform when everyone believes that lower rates and fewer
tax expenditures is a good overall policy, but no one is willing to give up
their tax breaks? Mitt Romney is floating a plan to just put an overall cap
on deductions. Matt Yglesias endorses it as a "clever plan" and says, "The
big advantage is that since no particular deduction is eliminated, you
don't reap the fury of the impacted interest groups in the same way." Ezra
Klein is also positive. And I am too, but note the questions Klein asks:
This leaves a lot of unanswered questions. For instance, which deduc... more »

Image Source: PreppyGirlGreen Sayer Ji, *Contributor*
The history of Breast Cancer Awareness Month's surprising origins is a
matter of the public record:
NBCAM was founded in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer
Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries (now
part of AstraZeneca, maker of several anti-breast cancer drugs). The aim of
the NBCAM from the start has been to promote mammography as the most
effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer. ~ Wikipedia
If you doubt Wikipedia as a reliable source, visit the NBCAM website and
... more »

Sorry for the inconvenience, folks, but several people have contacted me
to advise that you may be getting a Malware alert regarding this blog. This
has happened several times before, usually immediately following a post
criticizing the government, a mere coincidence I'm sure. This is NOT true.
There are NO ads, banners, popups or hidden malware of any kind on this
blog. You may safely view the content without worrying about anything. The
government of course may view this entire blog as malware in light of the
criticisms contained here, to which I'd just love to respond with that... more »

New law giving extended powers over search and surveillance quietly came
into force on 1st October. The law gives the police and dozens of govt
agencies the power to stop and search anyone, anytime—simply on suspicion
they might do or have done something wrong. And it then gives police and
that same long list of govt agencies the powers to search homes and
businesses without a warrant—as long as those agencies can articulate a
suspicion that, for example, evidence is about to be destroyed. And most
govt agents can be fairly articulate when they need to be.
Oh, it also lets more g... more »

It's widely accepted that British Columbia lacks the authority to stop the
Northern Gateway pipeline. The argument goes that the pipeline proposal
would be a matter of federal jurisdiction.
Maybe, maybe not. British Columbia's unelected, unelectable and outgoing
premier, Christy Clark, says Victoria could kill the pipeline by simply
refusing to supply the operation with electricity.
*“British Columbia’s power would be required to power up the pipeline, from
B.C. Hydro – a Crown corporation,” she said while speaking to students from
University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.... more »

*Forbes*, yes that *Forbes*, the business magazine understands the damage
that income inequality is exacting on America's economy.
*New research indicates that growing income inequality isn’t just
unpleasant; it is seriously hurting the U.S. economy. And economists are
figuring out just how the damage is done, according to a fascinating new
article by the journalist Jonathan Rauch in National Journal. This
challenges a long-standing consensus that, as Rauch puts it, “inequality is
the price America pays for a dynamic, efficient economy. . . . As long as
the bottom and the middle ... more »

*SOUTH Korea has shut down one of its nuclear reactors following a
malfunction in its control system but there's no risk of a radiation leak,
plant operators say.
*
The 1000-megawatt Shingori 1 reactor near the southern city of Busan was
shut down after a warning signal at 8:10am (0910 AEST), the state-run Korea
Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) said today.
"There was a malfunction in the reactor's control rod, but the reactor is
now stable with no danger of a radiation leak," a KHNP spokesman told AFP.
It is the first time the reactor has been shut down since it began
operations in F... more »

*KATMANDU, Nepal — An official in Nepal says a landslide has swept several
vehicles off a mountain highway. Four people are confirmed dead and nine
others have been reported missing.*
Government administrator Purushottam Ghimire says the landslide Sunday
night swept away five vehicles traveling on the Mechi highway near Kilbung
village in eastern Nepal.
He says eight people have been rescued, four bodies have been pulled out
and people remain missing.
Details were still sketchy Monday morning but rescue teams have reached the
area. Source

*A dozen people have been sickened and two have died after an outbreak of
fungal meningitis tied to injections given at outpatient surgical centers
in Tennessee and North Carolina, health officials said.*
At least 737 people who received lumbar epidural steroid injections between
July 30 and Sept. 20 have been notified of the cluster of rare aspergillus
meningitis infections, which attack the central nervous system, said Curtis
Allen, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Aspergillus is a mold present in the environment, and the meningitis is not
related t... more »

*Nuclear waste travels through Nebraska almost daily. On Saturday, a bit of
scare here in Lincoln. Officials say the incident at 56th and Highway 2
could have been worse. The truck was carrying low-level waste, but
thankfully it didn't end up causing any harm. Emergency vehicles swarm a
flatbed semi Saturday after it stopped too quickly, causing its load to
shift, it happened near 56th and Highway 2. That load contained low-level
nuclear waste.*
"The public should stay away from anything labeled radioactive material,"
Environmental Health Specialist Ralph Martin said.
Ralph Martin... more »

The campaign ad above is from Wayne Powell, the intrepid Democrat Steve
Israel refuses to allow the DCCC to help take on Eric Cantor. Luckily we
have men and women like Powell who are undaunted by corrupt Beltway
Insiders-- like Cantor and Israel-- and work to represent the interests of
ordinary working families anyway. DCCC or not, Powell is hammering Cantor
mercilessly. Cantor and his cronies, especially his cronies on the House
Financial Services Committee, opposed the creation of the Consumer
Financial Protection Board, opposed the appointment of, first Elizabeth
Warren and t... more »

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has struck the BALLENY ISLANDS REGION at a depth
of 16.6 km (10.3 miles), the quake hit at 19:41:29 UTC Tuesday 2nd October
2012
The epicenter was 280 km (173 miles) NNW of Scott Island Bank, Antarctica
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has struck TONGA at a depth of 3.1 km (1.9
miles), the quake hit at 18:39:08 UTC Tuesday 2nd October 2012
The epicenter was 90 km (55 miles) South of Pangai, Tonga
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

*Just five weeks before America’s presidential election, US intelligence
reports signs that al Qaeda leader Ayman Zuwahiri is preparing a string of
terrorist attacks as the sequel to the murders of US ambassador Chris
Stevens and three other US officials in Benghazi on Sept. 11, according to
evidence collected across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.*
His twin goals are to influence the poll’s results and to build up his
reputation as a master of spectacular terrorist operations. Eager to
impress Al Qaeda’s franchise chiefs, Zuwahiri is reported to be celebrating
his “Benghazi feat... more »

This is quite possibly the saddest statement ever made about Mitt Romney:
In debate prep, Romney has practiced coming across as personable...
One month out from election day and they're still trying to make the Rombot
seem more human. And how is that supposed to work you ask?
During prep sessions in Vermont this past month, Romney has worked
tirelessly on the stylistic aspect of his presentation, and Romney’s
advisers predict that the former Massachusetts governor will come across as
both presidential and empathetic. Rather than fire off brusque retorts, as
he often did during pr... more »

The German Justice Ministry has outlined a new draft lawregulating the
circumcision of children in that country, on the heels of a Cologne court’s
decision that circumcision of non-consenting minors constituted a human
rights violation.The decision, after a four-year-old Muslim boy experienced
uncontrollable bleeding following his ritual circumcision, sparked a
firestorm, with some child rights activists hailing the decisionand while Muslim
and Jewish communities within Germany and abroad argued that the ruling
constituted a violation of religious rights.
The new law must pass by at... more »

"When you observe the world you see people, you see houses, you see the
sky, you see tangible objects; but when you observe yourself within, you
see moving images--a world of images, generally known as fantasies. Yet
these fantasies are facts. You see, it is a fact that the man has such and
such a fantasy, and it is such a tangible fact, for instance, that when a
man has a certain fantasy, another man may lose his life, or a bridge is
built--these houses were all fantasies. Everything you do here, all of the
houses, everything, was fantasy to begin with, and fantasy has a proper
... more »

*TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012*
*Will Maddow take him on:* Last evening, David Gregory moderated the second
debate between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren.
He devoted the first eighteen minutes to the dispute, or pseudo-dispute,
about Elizabeth Warren’s ancestry.
Later, on the Maddow show, Barney Frank said this about that: “I was
frankly disappointed in David Gregory’s choice of topics. To spend many
minutes on this non-issue of Cherokee ancestry and about a minute and a
half on Afghanistan is about as bad a set of priorities as I have seen.”
Did Gregory make a bad choice of topics? ... more »

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has struck ASSAM, INDIA at a depth of 51.6 km
(31.9 miles), the quake hit at 18:37:41 UTC Tuesday 2nd October 2012
The epicenter was 87 km (54 miles) WSW from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh,
India
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Image
from Austinist.
New England Journal of Medicine:
Family planning cuts in
Texas force clinic closures
Low-income women are being hit hardest by the legislative cutbacks, the
study’s authors note.
By Mary Tuma / The American Independent / October 2, 2012
Deep slashes to family planning funds made during Texas’ last
legislative session have caused 53 clinics that provide family planning

The video below "explains… that *the elites are intentionally ‘exposing’
the New Word Order and are encouraging us to ‘rise up’, ‘rebel’ or ‘revolt’
in order to destroy it. *
"Out of the ashes (chaos) of the destroyed ‘old order’ (a corrupted,
demoralised and degraded ‘West’ masquerading as the New World Order) will
rise the phoenix that will be the new system.
"This system will, of course, be sold to us as the end of all wars, justice
for all, sharing, equality etc but will actually be the very (Luciferian)
New Age communitarianism the elites wanted all along.” – REVOLUTION HARRY... more »

*A 46-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the abduction of
five-year-old April Jones.*
Police said the search is continuing for the little girl who was last seen
playing on her bicycle with friends near her home in the Bryn Y Gog estate
in Machynlleth, mid Wales, at around 7pm last night.
She was last spotted by another child getting into a grey or light-coloured
van - similar to a Ford Transit Connect or Land Rover-type vehicle.
Detective Superintendent Reg Bevan, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said the suspect
was arrested at around 4pm, and they had been "actively looking ... more »

The ethical, philosophical and societal implications of this are truly
mind-boggling. Imagine getting your hands on a functioning, entirely
lethal pistol a mere matter of downloading a file and running it through a
3D printer.
This is the future?

http://gaiaportal.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/next-steps-currently-enabled-and-supported-at-5-7d-levels/
*Next Steps Currently Enabled and Supported at 5-7D Levels*
October 2, 2012
Multi-Directional couplings have completed. Star patterns aligned with Gaia
energetics have enabled exchange of grids among Star Light Beings.
Essential patterns for ascendancy are complete.
Next steps are currently enabled and supported at 5-7D levels.

Now America's plans for a long-term presence in Afghanistan may be driving Pakistan
into Moscow's arms.
Pakistan army chief, Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, is headed to Moscow for talks.
*The Pakistani military spokesman has confirmed the "historic" visit will
take place on Wednesday. The spokesman said Kiani is expected to meet top
Russian military and civilian leaders to discuss possibilities of
military-to-military cooperation between the two countries. *
*
**...To be sure, Moscow's priority will be to sit across the table with
Kiani, as he is the fountainhead of authority in Pakistan on m... more »

*Activist Post*
Is is possible for “educational” technology to inappropriately stimulate
and harm the developing brain? “...this is important because we're
technologizing childhood today in a way that is previously unprecedented.”
Forty years ago, children began watching some television at age four (like
calm speaking Mr. Rogers); now they start as infants with the rapid, high
stimulation (like *Baby Einstein*and *Powerpuff Girls*).
Does modern TV precondition the mind to expect high levels of stimulation
which leads to inattention and developmental problems later on? What
happ... more »

*BRUSSELS - French President Francois Hollande faced his first serious
public backlash after up to 50,000 lined the streets of Paris on Sunday (30
September) in protest against his €37 billion austerity budget.*
Organisers of the event, which brought together around 60 left-wing groups,
claimed that 50,000 protestors took to the streets to denounce the cuts
programme.
"Today is the day the French people launch a movement against the politics
of austerity," said the Front de Gauche president, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who
finished fourth in the Presidential elections.
On Tuesday (2 Octob... more »

*The markets have celebrated Mario Draghi's announcement that the European
Central Bank will embark on unlimited purchases of sovereign bonds from
crisis stricken countries. But are such purchases really legal? Draghi's
own justification for the program leaves plenty of room for doubt.*
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is spending a lot of time on
the road these days, not unlike a traveling salesman. The product he has on
offer is credibility, but in Germany at least, it is proving difficult to
find eager takers.
Last week, for example, Draghi gave a speech to several h... more »

Lisa Garber
It should be outrageous to think that the very water we drink is
poisoned—but the water actually is. Although calcium fluoride is found
naturally in underground and ocean water, the sodium fluoride added to the
public water supply is virtually toxic, a wolf in the sheep’s garb of
improved dental health. (The West Virginia University Rural Health Research
Center says that fluoride doesn’t even prevent cavities; vitamin D and
omega-3 fatty acids are better allies for that.) Even the federal
government is calling for lower levels of fluoride in public water after a
Har... more »

Paul Fassa
The so called “flu season” comes around every fall and winter. It’s called
the flu season only because more cases of the flu occur than any other time
of the year. All the pharmacy stores and Walmarts as well as other venues
have kiosks waiting to vaccinate you with the seasonal flu shot as a
measure of flu prevention.
Oh yeah, and to make a huge profit while disrupting medical records. And if
they aren’t trying to sell you a vaccine, commercials are doing everything
they can to make you buy Tamiflu, another profitable and questionable
solution.
By now you should kno... more »

*(CNSNews.com) - From fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2011, according to the U.S.
Treasury, the federal government increased spending on foreign aid by 80
percent and, in fiscal 2011, spent 76 percent more on foreign aid than it
did securing the borders of the United States.*
In fiscal 2008, the government spent a total of $11.427 billion in
international assistance programs, according to the Monthly Treasury
Statement. In fiscal 2011, according to the statement, it spent $20.599
billion—an increase of $9.172 billion, or 80 percent, from 2008.
Prior to President Obama taking office, internat... more »

*Vice President Biden said Tuesday that the middle class has been “buried”
for the last four years.
*
*
*Biden made the remark at a campaign rally while arguing that Republicans
would raise taxes on the middle class. He said the tax hike would be
especially bad given what the middle class has been through over the last
four years.
“This is deadly earnest, man. This is deadly earnest,” the vice president
said. “How they can justify, how they can justify raising taxes on the
middle class that has been buried the last four years? How in lord's name
can they justify raising their taxes... more »

Lisa Garber
Have you ever wondered why some babies are chatterboxes and others are
quiet? Dr. Victor Strasburger can always tell which toddlers are being read
to by grown-ups and which ones have the TV babysitter.
The babies that are being read to are just chattering away, and the babies
that sit in front of a TV are silent, Strasburger says. It means their
language development is threatened—they may catch up, but it’s a concern.
*Language Development Impeded by TV*
As a pediatrician, Strasburger has found that infants learn language (among
other things) better from actual peopl... more »

Free will is an interesting idea. We can choose. There is no cosmic
decider making our decisions for our own good. It comes always to us.
As a child when I heard about free will I thought “How free is it really?
When, if you make the wrong choice, this thunderbolt God will strike you
down.” I was 8 years old; the beginnings of my questioning.
I am no longer a child, and today I question pretty much everything. We’ve
been lied to and it no longer matters if it was deliberate or not, not
really. What matters are the choices we make. In this year of 2012 our
eyes are b... more »

*Oct 2 - Jeffrey Goldfarb talks with Rob Cox and Dan Indiviglio about the
Economic Dream Team Machine, a new game that allows you to assemble the
best economic teams for an Obama or Romney White House.
*

*(Reuters) - Russia told NATO and world powers on Tuesday they should not
seek ways to intervene in Syria's civil war or set up buffer zones between
rebels and government forces.*
Moscow further called for restraint between NATO-member Turkey and Syria,
where violence along their shared border has strained relations between the
former allies.
Tensions have flared since a mortar round fired from inside Syria struck
the territory of Turkey. Ankara has threatened to respond if the strike
were repeated.
When asked by Interfax if Moscow worried whether the tense border situation
could... more »

*(Reuters) - From the mountains of Afghanistan and the streets of Baghdad
to the iron cages of Guantanamo Bay, Libyans from Derna have made their
small city a big name in global jihad.*
Now, with their nemesis Muammar Gaddafi gone, many are home - but say their
battle for an Islamic state has only just begun.
The death of the U.S. ambassador last month in the sack of Washington's
consulate in Benghazi - an assault Washington says may have involved al
Qaeda-allied militants - has shone a global spotlight on armed Islamists
across eastern Libya.
One effect of hostile reactions at ho... more »

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake has struck SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA at a
depth of 105 km (65.1 miles), the quake hit at 17:37:22 UTC Tuesday 2nd
October 2012
The epicenter was 97 km (60.2 miles) Northwest of Curup, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

*(Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will respond on Tuesday to
U.S. lawmakers who wrote to her requesting information about an attack on
the U.S. mission in Benghazi last month in which four people died, State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.*
Clinton is ready to cooperate "closely" with Congress in investigating the
attack in Benghazi, Nuland said at a regular daily news briefing.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the
assault on the mission the evening of September 11. Source

Woody is still wanking.
"Woodworth Says Opponents of M312 Must Give Up Single-Minded Preoccupation
with Abortion"
That's the headline about Motion 312 that should have been applied to every
commentary.
He then goes on to whine about the 'preoccupation with abortion' that he
thinks killed his motion and in the process uses the word 'abortion'
eighteen times.
Here's a sample:
Support a study about how best in Canada to honour the principle that human
rights must be extended to every human being? No, our preoccupation with
abortion tells us that studying how best to recognize the ... more »

Pundits may say it'll be a cakewalk but there's a lot of credible folks
running. Justin may well win - and be a good Leader - but it won't be
without a fight:
Story
When Justin Trudeau officially launches his campaign for the leadership of
the Liberal party tonight, it is expected he will bluntly admit his party
has lost touch with Canada's middle class — and offer his prescription for
winning them back.
The Montreal MP, 40, will make a speech tonight in his home riding of
Papineau in front of enthusiastic support, but campaign insiders say to
expect a "meaty" speech, according to ... more »

*Radical Jewish settlers vandalized a Christian church outside of
Jerusalem, spray-painting “Jesus is a bastard” and “price tag” on its outer
door. Such attacks have been on the rise despite police promises to curb
hate crimes in the Holy Land.*
The blue graffiti denigrating the central figure to the Christian religion
was scrawled on the door of the Franciscan Convent near the Dormition Abbey
Church early on Tuesday. It was removed soon after.
The Dormition Abbey Church, located on Mount Zion just outside the walls of
the Old City, is believed by many Christians to be the site whe... more »

*KANO, Nigeria — Gunmen massacred at least 26 people in a student housing
area of northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, calling victims out by name before
shooting them or slitting their throats, officials said.*
The attack occurred in the early hours in the town of Mubi, where the
military last week carried out a high-profile raid against Islamist
extremist group Boko Haram, which has been waging a deadly insurgency.
Some officials however suggested the massacre may have been linked to a
recent student election.
According to a police spokesman, the attackers knew their victims and
called ... more »

It has been revealed that the United States government was strongly urging
[the Japanese government] to reconsider its policy of “zero nukes in 2030s”
which was part of the energy and environmental strategy of the Noda
administration, as “President Obama wishes it”.
According to the multiple government sources, as the Noda administration
was moving in August toward explicitly putting down “zero nuke” in the
official document, the US strongly requested that Japan reconsider the
“zero nuke” policy, saying the request was “the result of discussion at the
highest level of the governmen... more »

The unfortunate cetacean, variously reported as being a minke or a fin
whale, has sadly died as is all too often the case when the animals become
beached. About 600 whales are beached in the UK every year. Source

*France and Germany have clashed over the location of the new headquarters
of BAE-EADS should a planned merger to go ahead.*
France wants the main base of a combined company to be in Toulouse, where
EADS’s subsidiary Airbus is based, but Germany wants the headquarters to be
located outside Munich according to reports.
It is the latest twist in the £30bn mega merger, which is hinged on a
complex set of negotiations as European governments make a list of demands.
BAE-EADS must gain backing for the deal from the French, German, British
and US governments before it can go ahead to crea... more »

*(Reuters) - Iran would enrich uranium up to 60 percent purity if
negotiations with major powers over its nuclear program fail, an Iranian
lawmaker said on Tuesday, in comments that may add to Western alarm about
Iranian intentions.
*
Mansour Haqiqatpour, deputy head of parliament's Foreign Policy and
National Security Committee, said 60 percent enrichment would be to yield
fuel for nuclear submarines, which often require uranium refined to high
levels.
But it would also take Iran another significant step closer to the 90
percent enrichment level needed to make atomic bombs, which ... more »

*The BBC says it is to make direct contact with police to provide "full
support" over any allegations made about abuse involving Sir Jimmy Savile.*
A spokesman for the corporation said: "A number of serious and disturbing
allegations have been made over the past few days about the sexual abuse of
teenage girls by Jimmy Savile.
"Some of these allegations relate to activity on BBC premises in the 1960s
and 70s. We are horrified by allegations that anything of this sort could
have happened at the BBC - or have been carried out by anyone working for
the BBC.
"So we have today asked th... more »

One more note on the whole question of debate spin, media interpretation,
and the rest of it. Erik Voeten says:
ps. as an aside: We should be careful not to suggest that debate
performance doesn’t influence the media narrative. It does. But as John’s
post notes, the effect of debates filtered by the media will differ from
what the effect would have been if it had not been filtered.
Yup. I mean, to take the extreme case: it's hard to believe that anyone
could have watched the "oops" debate and not come away with any headline
other than that Rick Perry goofed in a big way. Except...we... more »

*(Reuters) - An EU advisory group called on Tuesday for banks' traditional
deposit-taking business to be legally separated from higher risk
activities, drawing fire from the industry even though it stopped short of
demanding a full break up of lenders.*
Recommendations of the group, set up by the European Commission, aim to
shield taxpayers from having to fund further bailouts and to protect savers
from any more banking collapses after more than five years of crisis.
In their report, the group argued for a "legal separation of ...
particularly risky financial activities from deposi... more »

* A 46-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance
of five-year-old April Jones.*
Police said the search is continuing for the little girl who was last seen
playing on her bicycle with friends near her home in the Bryn Y Gog estate
in Machynlleth, mid Wales, at around 7pm last night.
She was last spotted by another child getting into a grey or light-coloured
van - similar to a Ford Transit Connect or Land Rover-type vehicle.
Detective Superintendent Reg Bevan, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said the suspect
was arrested in the last hour, and they had been "actively ... more »

I got into a few friendly exchanges and debates on the new law, RA 10175 or
the Cybercrime Prevention Act, signed into a law only last month. There are
three threads here, about 12 pages long including this image below, so grab
your fave snacky, cheers.
*Thread 1, October 01 to 02:*
*Anthony*: Cybercrime Law: I've reconsidered the issue and now agree with
Harry Harry Santos that there's cause for concern. Initially I thought that
the law's passing wouldn't matter since it would be difficult to implement.
However, as the latest PNP Facebook fiasco shows, actual implementation
isn't... more »

We're discrete about it, sometimes, but we treat Muslims amongst us
differently. We're suspicious of the way they dress, their religion, their
culture and, well, just what they're really up to. And we've worked out
ways to keep tabs on them in the hope of being able to spot acts or words
that suggest something is amiss.
Chris Hedges suggests the techniques we've developed to keep a state eye on
Muslims will soon be used on you too.
*"...violations of fundamental civil liberties will not, in the end, be
reserved exclusively for Muslims once the corporate state feels under
siege.... more »

R. v. Ward, 2012 ONCA 660 gives a useful answer to the question as to how
to determine whether a claimant has "a reasonable expectation of privacy"? :
[81] How then is one to determine whether a claimant has "a
reasonable expectation of privacy"? In *Tessling*, at para. 42, Binnie J.
observes that "[e]xpectation of privacy is a normative rather than a
descriptive standard."
[82] By "normative", I understand Binnie J. to mean that in
determining whether an individual enjoys a reasonable expectation of
privacy, the court is making a value judgment more than a finding o... more »

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA at a
depth of 57.5 km (35.7 miles), the quake hit at 14:55:30 UTC Tuesday 2nd
October 2012
The epicenter was 89 km (55 miles) WNW of Bengkulu, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

This is beyond triage. This is even beyond what the GOP Establishment types
have done to Todd Akin in Missouri after his little slip of the tongue
that, basically, showed he's on the exact same page as the rest of his
hateful, bigoted party. However, even political party establishments can't
tolerate an exposed criminal in its midst. And Florida Republicans have
followed Beltway Republicans in pushing Rep. David Rivera out beyond the
political pale. It started when Romney and Ryan told him to stay away from
their campaign appearances in south Florida. And when he closest political ... more »

[image: Coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef. Color shading indicates mean
coral cover averaged over 1985–2012. Points show the locations of the 214
survey reefs in the northern, central, and southern regions, and their
color indicates the direction of change in cover over time. These data show
a major decline in coral cover from 28.0 percent to13.8 percent (0.53% per
year), a loss of 50.7 percent of initial coral cover. De’ath, et al., 2012]
By Miguel Llanos, NBC News
1 October 2012
Calling it the most extensive review of how coral on Australia's Great
Barrier Reef is faring, sc... more »

*URGENT PROTEST: Bodaway/Ga​p Special Meeting Oct. 3, 2012 12:00 Re:
CONFLUENCE PROJECT*
*By Don Yellowman*
*Posted at Censored News*
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Yah ah teh Everyone,
I pray that all are doing well. Some of you may not know, but I am a voting
member of the Bodaway Gap Chapter and former Grazing Officer and Farm Board
member of the area. Therefore, my family and I are stakeholders and have an
interest in the effort being pushed upon the people to buy-in to the
Escalade Project.
As mentioned below, there are many unethical and illegal practices and
processes... more »

We need to accept one simple truth. To avoid runaway climate change we
can burn just one-fifth of already discovered reserves of fossil fuels.
One fifth, no more.
Fossil fuels have, for the survival of mankind, become sub-prime assets.
The higher-carbon the fossil fuel the more worthless it is. That begins
with coal and extends to unconventional fuels such as tar sand bitumen.
Within the context of salvaging civilization for our kids and grandkids,
these fuels have no value, no worth.
Steve Harper, with his piggy little eyes focused greedily on vast stores of
oil and ga... more »

Its flag looks eerily like Hitler's swastika. "It" is the far-right Golden
Dawn party that has risen out of the turmoil of Greece's economic collapse.
And another eerie echo from the past is that Greek police, hard hit by
government austerity, are reported to be sending crime victims to Golden
Dawn for protection.
*...Athenians are being openly directed by police to seek help from the
neo-Nazi group, analysts, activists and lawyers say.*
*In return, a growing number of Greek crime victims have come to see the
party, whose symbol bears an uncanny resemblance to the swastika, as... more »

*No, I didn't mean Jesus Christ.*
Pete Wilton, an Oxford science writer, wrote a piece introducing the new
website WhyStringTheory.com:
Pulling the strings (Oxford science blog)
Three creative folks behind the website say various things. Edward Hughes,
a Cambridge UK student, says that string theory is fundamental, beautiful,
and he wanted to communicate the excitement.
Charlotte Mason, an Oxford student, says that she has mixed feelings about
string theory. The picturesque ideas are beautiful but she describes the
maths exactly in the way you would expect from a somewhat randoml... more »

Paul Craig Roberts, *Contributor*
*
*Those who have followed the Republican campaign for the presidential
nomination and current contest between Romney and Obama know that the
United States has no political leadership in Washington.
Billions of dollars have been spent on political propaganda, but not a
single important issue has been addressed. The closest the campaign has
come to a political issue is which candidate can grovel the lowest at the
feet of Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. Romney won that contest. But for
the rest, well, it is like two elementary school children sti... more »

*SURPRISE!!! GOP COMMITTING VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD NATIONWIDE! *
What old saying applies best here: "THOU DOST PROTEST TOO MUCH?" The party
that *FALSELY claimed "widespread voter fraud" (debunked by stats and in
court)* as their reason to pass TREASONOUS "VOTER ID" laws (which should be
called "THE DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF LEGAL VOTERS WHO DON'T HAVE PHOTO ID AND
DON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN LAW) is committing coordinated nationwide VOTER
REGISTRATION FRAUD!
Nationwide "ring" (for lack of a better word) employed by GOP approaches
people, misleading them that they are "pollsters", question... more »

Sorry I haven't had much time for blogging, lately. It's not for want of
inspiration. After all, just last night we saw the Scott Brown/Elizabeth
Warren powwow sponsored by the right wing *Boston Herald* and moderated by
David "President Romney" Gregory, the endless idiocies from the rat bag
minds of Willard and Ann Romney, the endless war on women and LGBT people
and a billion other topics. But, despite the welcome help of a very small
but dear circle of friends and readers, we're immediately behind the 8 ball
again and have no chance whatsoever of paying the rent in less than a
m... more »

*YouTube - ornpatricktimpone*
Dr. Arpad Pusztai evoked worldwide media attention in August 1998, when he
said in British TV that he would not eat genetically engineered food
because of the insufficient testing procedures they have undergone.
Pusztai is a world renowned expert on food safety, who worked at UK's
leading food safety research lab, the Rowett institute. His statement
obviously threatened to damage the then ongoing multimillion PR campaign of
the Biotech industry to create public confidence in GE foods. A few days
after his public appearance he was suspended and gagged ... more »

UPDATE: the author of the *Chronicle *article, Peter Schmidt, discussed the
issue on the Kojo Namdi show yesterday.
The SEIU wants to unionize adjunct professors at Georgetown University. As
their card makes clear, this is part of a broader effort to unionize
contingent labor at colleges and universities. George Washington's adjuncts unionized
in 2006, and won a significant pay raise this August. American University's
and Montgomery County's adjuncts are also unionized.
From today's *Chronicle of Higher Education* article:
SEIU Local 500 began a campaign to organize an adjunct unio... more »

J.G. Vibes, *Contributor*
Since Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom had his house raided this past January
he has been promising that his operation will be back and better than ever,
even saying that the reincarnation of the site will effectively "put the
dinosaur record industry out of business for good".
Just months before the shutdown of Megaupload, plans for this new service
were released, but everyone assumed that it was over when the domains were
seized last January. However, this week Dotcom released the video below on
the making of the new service "Megabox". Megabox promises to... more »

*YouTube - EndTheLie*
Madison Ruppert and guest Brandon Turbeville of Activist Post discuss the
definition of a "terrorist" and how almost everyone in America today could
absurdly be considered suspicious per the DHS's ever-expanding definition.
And who are the local Council of Governments (COGs) and how are they
supporting the Agenda 21 initiative across small-town America in this
information-packed, educational episode. End the Lie Radio is live from
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM EST/7:00 PM - 9:00 PM PST every Monday evening at
http://EndtheLie.com/Radio.
*Read other articles by Brando... more »

Cassandra Anderson, *Contributor*
Geo-engineering is an umbrella term for deliberate climate intervention
that includes spraying the sky with aerosols to reflect solar radiation
away from Earth in order to cool the planet and to save the environment and
humanity from the effects of supposedly man-made global warming. There is
evidence that this program has already been implemented for many years
using unidentified chemical aerosols, known as chemtrails.
A geo-engineering/chemtrails experiment using a balloon to spray sulfur
particles into the sky to reflect solar radiation back... more »

Majia here: Blogger Ex-SKF has a very sad report about children in Japan:
Ex-SKF Sunday, September 30, 2012
#Radioactive Japan: WBC Result of a Child in Iwaki City, #Fukushima Seems
to Suggest Chronic Ingestion of Radioactive Cesium of More than 10 Bq Per
Day
[Excerpted] Iwaki City in southern Fukushima Prefecture has been testing
the residents in higher radiation districts since November last year using
the Whole Body Counter (WBC) for internal radiation exposure. On September
25, the municipal government announced the result of the test for about
12,000 residents. (Iwaki City's po... more »

image source - click to enlarge Madison Ruppert, *Contributor*
We have covered a great deal of highly questionable smartphone software, as
well as the fact that current software can easily be leveraged as a surveillance
tool and games have even been created which use “soft control” to encourage
citizen spying.
New technologies are going to make ultra-precise location information the
norm which is especially troubling since our government claims that such
data is not protected by the Constitution.
It just gets worse when we realize that mobile phone companies are
responding to mas... more »

*Stuckism* was founded by Charles Thomson and Billy Childish in 1999 with
12 artists to promote contemporary figurative painting and oppose
conceptual art. It has since grown to an international art movement of 233
groups in 52 countries. The name was coined after Childish’s ex-girlfriend,
Tracey Emin, said he was “Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!” The concept struck, the
Stuckism movement brought forth several Stuckist manifestos in an effort to
draw other artists to their cause, including one where the term "Remodernism"
was coined.
This month the Bermondsey Project Gallery at 46 Willow Wal... more »

Face it, we're becoming acclimated to environmental collapse. "It's
happening, so what?" Especially when we learn of it in some distant, as in
out of earshot, range.
A case in point, the Great Barrier Reef. This heralded Wonder of the
World has now lost fully half its legendary coral cover. The culprits -
acidified ocean waters, storms and swarms of coral-eating starfish.
*At present rates of decline, the coral cover will halve again within a
decade, though scientists said the reef could recover if the
crown-of-thorns starfish can be brought under control and, longer term,
... more »

*TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012*
*The role of the press disappears:* The press corps loves to peddle its
piffle about past White House debates.
Last Friday, Anderson Cooper rattled the official approved standard
silly-bill list of the mainstream press corps’ official tales. As we noted
yesterday, this has largely become the standard list.
Once again, here is that list. We include a few quotes from Cooper:
*The mainstream press corps’ Standard Tales from Past Presidential Debates:*
1960: Richard Nixon “sweat[s] profusely under the hot studio lights.”
1976: Gerald Ford makes a ridiculous s... more »

Bobby's blog - Optimal Prediction - reports that the US is conducting
Z-machine tests on plutonium despite condemnation :
http://optimalprediction.com/wp/us-is-conducting-z-machine-tests-on-plutonium/#comment-1644
source for data on tests http://www.nuclearcrimes.org/a-9-3.php
Unbelievable.
What is the matter with these sociopaths.
And what happened at Fukushima Mon Oct 1? Two earthquakes in the same
location. Is that common?
http://enenews.com/5pm-et-3-quakes-hit-fukushima-in-last-2-hours-m5-2-m4-4-and-m4-4-2-at-almost-identical-location-maps
Since I've concluded that much of the ... more »

Fukushima communities still crippled as evacuees choose to stay away. Asahi
Shimbun Oct 2, 2011
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201210020009
[Excerpted] Only one in 10 evacuees from certain towns close to the
Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has returned home, a year after officials
declared it was safe to do so.
Just 3,160 evacuees, or about 11 percent of the total from that area, have
returned...
The figures relate to those residents whose homes were between 20 and 30
kilometers from the crippled plant. For almost five months after the
disaster, officials d... more »

- Mikheil Saakashvili's party loses in Georgian election (but wait,
writes Liz Fuller, maybe not). Mark Adomanis discusses the implications,
as does Simon Tisdall.
- Ankit Panda on Indo-Japanese relations.
- Dan Brumberg and Hesham Sallam have authored a new USIP paper on
Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Egypt.
- Justin Gengler: "The Uprising is Over. But What is the Price of
Bahrain's Victory?"
- Stuart D. Goldman argues that the Soviet-Japanese border war of 1939
determined the outcome of World War II.
- Kindred Winecoff on the politics of financi... more »

John Sides reports today on some research which confirms what we all
basically know: winning the spin matters more than winning the debate. That
is, as Kim Fridkin et al. find, reactions differed to a 2004 debate
depending on whether people just watched the debate; watched the debate and
news coverage; or just watched the news coverage. As John says, there's
evidence from earlier cycles for the same effect.
What I'm wondering about, however, is how the spin is going to work this
time around. Who is going to select the clips that everyone sees, which
therefore become the memorable mo... more »

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[image: Flooding in the city of Miami Beach after extremely heavy rains, 5
June 2009. Alexander Reyes via maxmayfieldshurricaneblog.wordpress.com]
By Paul Brinkmann, with additional reporting by Oscar Pedro Musibay
10 August 2012
(South Florida Business Journal) – The city of Miami Beach is vetting a
$200 million storm water concept that is one of the first in the nation to
respond to sea level rise resulting from global warming.
As part of the process, global storm water engineering firm CDM Smith is
going to explain its methodology at the Sea Level Rise Public Meeting &
Discussi... more »

Jester posted an interesting text on the instability of the Higgs field:
What's the deal with vacuum stability?
Of course, this topic has been covered many times on this blog, including
on July 3rd and July 17th this year, but it's interesting to read Jester's
twists on the story, anyway.
First, given the current best estimates of the top quark mass and the Higgs
mass (other parameters don't matter too much), the quartic (=fourth power)
coupling describing the Higgs self-interaction \(|H|^4\) almost certainly
goes negative beneath the Planck scale.
*Taken from May 2012 paper by D... more »

*TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2012*
*Epilogue—More deception and bile:* For whatever reason, Texas schools and
Texas students score well on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP)—if you disaggregate test scores, as everyone knows you
should.
Texas schools have scored quite well on the NAEP for the past fifteen
years. In math, they score near the top of the nation—after
“disaggregation,” that is.
To show you what we mean, here are math scores from Texas and Massachusetts
in last year’s NAEP. Massachusetts is commonly regarded as our
highest-scoring state—our own little answ... more »

There are few things in this world that are more adorable than a little
one straight out of the tub. Recreating some of those moments with a simple
towel or elaborate bath scene can be some of mom and dad's favorite photos
looking back, because it is so natural. We will leave the details
on elaborate bath scenes for another day, and today we will just talk about
using only a towel as a prop.
Why a towel? For starters, it is a really affordable prop. Props can be
very expensive and over the top. All little kids use towels, so it is
natural and very simple. I keep a variety of t... more »

[image: Nighttime view of a freeway interchange in Beijing. Kevin Lee /
Bloomberg / Getty Images via foreignpolicy.com]
BY PETER CALTHORPE
SEPT/OCT 2012
(Foreign Policy) – In the last five years, China has built 20,000 miles of
expressways, finishing the construction of 12 national highways a whopping
13 years ahead of schedule and at a pace four times faster than the United
States built its interstate highway system. Over the last decade, Shanghai
alone has built some 1,500 miles of road, the equivalent of three
Manhattans. China's urban population is projected to grow by 350 mi... more »

*"Bowlesing Toward Betrayal"*
by Paul Krugman
"So, is my timing good or not? Right after I warn about the risk that
Democrats, including the president, might betray the mandate they seem
likely to get for preserving the safety net, we learn that Senate leaders
are at work on a plan based around, well, you guessed it: "If those efforts
failed, another plan would take effect, probably a close derivative of the
proposal by President Obama’s fiscal commission led by Erskine B. Bowles,
the Clinton White House chief of staff, and former Senator Alan K. Simpson
of Wyoming, a Republican... more »

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has chosen Justice Richard Wagner of
the Quebec Court of Appeal to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Justice Wagner becomes the Harper government's fifth appointment. The
Montreal lawyer was appointed to appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec
in 2004, and the Harper government named him to Court of Appeal of Quebec
in 2011.
Prior to his judicial appointment, Justice Wagner had a commercial
litigation practice focused on areas such as real estate, commercial
litigation and professional liability insurance. He was also a certifie... more »

MarketWatch
Ronald D. Orol
*WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
late Monday filed a lawsuit against J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in civil court,
alleging widespread fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities.*
The suit relates to mortgage-backed securities issued by Bear Stearns &
Co., which was acquired by J.P. Morgan JPM +1.21% in 2008 when the firm
collapsed amidst the financial crisis.
The complaint argues that Bear Stearns defrauded “thousands of investors.”
The charges, which came partly as a result of a federal mortgage task force
formed i... more »

Diplomacy, Murdoch style. Image from Twitchy Media.
Is Iran trying to tell us
something we won’t hear?
The rhetoric of the well-orchestrated anti-Iranian crowds outside was even bloodier than the Iranians had ever been...
By Danny Schechter / The Rag Blog / October 2, 2012
NEW YORK CITY -- Sometimes major media are the last to recognize shifts in policy positions. Iran is a case in point.
In

Happy Birthday to Avery Brooks, 64. I've bashed his performance as Sisko;
in his defense, he mostly had to play off of the weaker half of the cast.
And the Sisko/Dax friendship is terrific. In other random DS9 comments: my
eldest and I think they should have done a spinoff starring Admiral Ross --
a sitcom, in which Ross goes about his day as the world's most boring
character while unbeknownst to him all sorts of wacky things are going on.
I suppose Troi could make a guest appearance in which she senses that
someone is up to something...
Before I get any deeper into it, I better ge... more »

Richard Tisei prefers males but on almost every issue he'll vote as badly
as Allen West
Everybody wants to see Allen West defeated, right? Sure, West is a deranged
bag of wind, a divisive teabagger and a war criminal whose presence in
Congress is a rebuke to democracy itself. He has nothing particular to do
with government policy and his influence even on the GOP is, at best,
minimal, but symbolically he's one of the monsters who embody the
derailment of the Republican Party-- along with Bachmann, Steve King, Akin,
Gohmert, Virginia Foxx...
First the good news: current polls show W... more »

By: Duane Craig
Every residential property in Livingston, Calif. that relies on water from
city-owned wells can now expect 1,2,3-trichloropropane to be present to
some degree in that water, according to an article in the *Merced Sun-Star*.
Livingston’s water supplies have also had problems with elevated levels of
arsenic and manganese.
Some local officials appear to be hoping the community accepts the
long-term contamination prospects as well as they have. One councilman
played down the threat saying it wasn’t serious and that levels of
1,2,3-trichloropropane fluctuate. He said he ... more »

Daily Bail
Take a step back in time with Big Sis.
If it's this easy to find evidence (20-second search on Youtube), why
doesn't the MSM publish the truth and expose Holder and Obama? This is
blatant. They are even bragging about it. Where is the outrage? Where is
the accountability? Why isn't this a huge story?
Here's *the answer* from a Democratic pollster.
The White House wants you to believe that Holder and Obama knew nothing
about Fast & Furious even though you are watching video of the Deputy
Attorney General[image: icon1.png] holding a press conference to announce
the ... more »

gowans
Stephen Gowans
*For half of the last century, Arab nationalists, socialists, communists
and others were locked in a battle with the Muslim Brothers for hegemony in
the Arab world.—Tariq Ali [1]*
The Jihadists who toppled the secular nationalist Gaddafi government—and
not without the help of Nato bombers, dubbed “al Qaeda’s air force” [2] by
Canadian pilots who participated in the bombing campaign—are no longer
disguised in the pages of Western newspapers as a popular movement who
thirsted for, and won, democracy in Libya. Now that they’ve overrun the US
consulate in Benghaz... more »

Today -- when Justin Trudeau formally enters the Liberal leadership race --
his mission, Lawrence Martin writes in the *Globe*, will be to shake up the
system:
At 40, Justin Trudeau isn’t terribly young, but he has the aura of youth.
As such, and given the other marketing advantages he possesses, he has the
potential – slim but not out of the question – to lead the way for
generational change in the exercise of political power in the country. The
clock is ticking on the baby boom legions. They’ve run the show too long.
Those behind them have watched in despair. They don’t vote. F... more »

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